Approved Teacher Status (ATS) and Approved Practioner Status (APS)
ATS stands for Approved Teacher Status and APS stands for Approved Practioner Status.
These are specialist qualifications for working with children and are increasingly being recognised by LEAs and other employers.
ATS and APS Application Forms
To apply for ATS and APS accreditation you will need to view the following:
And complete the following documents:
- Candidate form
- Tutor form (completed by the AMBDA holding tutor who observed your teaching practice and assessment work)
Please send your paperwork in triplicate.
All documents would then need to be posted to Debbie Rautenbach at Unit 8, Bracknell Beeches, Old Bracknell Lane, Bracknell, RG12 7BW, along with your payment of £70.00. Your application will be acknowledged upon receipt.
Upcoming Accreditation Board Meetings:
September 2010 - Deadline 16 August for applications to be presented at the meeting.
January 2011 - Deadline 22 November for applications to be presented at the meeting.
May 2011- Deadline 6 April for applications to be presented at the meeting.
Please note that the final decision on all applications rests with the BDA Accreditation Board.
Candidates must apply for ATS and APS within five years of successful completion of a BDA accredited course. Any candidate who completed a course more than five years ago should contact the BDA office for further advice.
It is expected that an ATS and APS accredited course will enable candidates to achieve the following outcomes:
Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of dyslexia and identify children with specific learning difficulties in the classroom.
Make a diagnostic appraisal based on observation, assessment of attainment test findings, and demonstrate an understanding of the reports of other professionals.
Demonstrate an understanding of structured, sequential, multisensory teaching, and design a teaching programme to meet specific individual needs at a basic level in learning, literacy and numeracy. Social and behavioural difficulties should be taken into account for each of the pupils in their specific teaching.
Construct, deliver and evaluate such a programme.
Review classroom organisation to facilitate individual learning within the National Curriculum framework or equivalent.
Communicate effectively with teachers, parents and other professionals by verbal and written reports on the needs and achievements of learners with dyslexia.
Demonstrate an understanding of the contribution of ICT in the screening and teaching of specific learning difficulties/dyslexia and a knowledge of the range of relevant technical aids to teaching.
The course must provide a minimum of:
40 hours of lectures plus seminars, tutorials and study time,
20 hours evaluated specialist teaching, of which 10 hours must be with the same pupil. The remaining 10 hours may be with two different pupils, one of which could be taught in a group.
1 hour of teaching to be observed and assessed by a tutor who holds AMBDA.
Observation.
The following are essential points on observation.
Observation of the 1 hour of evaluated specialist teaching is for the purposes of both formative and summative assessment.
Whether by direct observation or video/DVD, this observed specialist teaching must form a significant part of the process of developing the student’s specialist skills. The hour should be followed by a written report to the student which should indicate how far that teaching currently meets the criteria.
Teaching should be evaluated by formal and informal means of observation, teaching diaries and the monitoring of pupils' progress. The teaching programme should be discussed and approved by the supervisor or tutor. Progress should be monitored with a final report on the quality of teaching.
All observation must be carried out by a course tutor who holds AMBDA.
This evaluation should take into account the quality of the observed teaching and the progress of the learner(s). The recording of lessons on video or DVD may be offered as a negotiable alternative provided they follow the BDA Video/DVD Guidelines.
Teaching diaries and video/DVD and audio taped lessons should be provided supplementary to the main assessment. The teaching programme should be discussed with, and approved by, the supervisor/tutor and progress monitored by reference to set performance criteria.
The teaching practice must include a minimum of 10 hours with one pupil. The remaining teaching practice could be with two different pupils. One of these could be taught in a small group of no more than three pupils.
